Testing anneal of cartridge shells and the like



1944- 1 J. P. CATLIN EIAL 2,364,129

TESTING ANNEAL OF CARTRIDGE SHELLS ANT) THE LIKE Filed Nov. 20, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS John P. CQCZZH George REckstein 27 a2. I ATTORNEvfi Dec. 5, 1 944. 2,364,129

TESTING ANNEAL OF CARTRIDGE SHELLS AND THE LIKE J. P. CATLlN ETAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 20, 1942 NOT so u INVENTORS John R Catlin BY GempeREckstein Patented Dec. 5, 1944 UNITE STATES I PAT TESTINGANNEAILOF CARTRIDGE I ANDITHEL'IKE'" JohniPi Catlin and GeorgetiRi Eckstcin; Bridge.

port,xfionn.,llassignors to Remington A-rmsiGom b pany; IncaBridgepont; Gonnr, .a corporation dof- Delaware;

Application n ve nerzo, 1942,"S erial No. 466,262

7::Glaims.

The present inventionjrelates to a methodand apparatusfor testing metal objects, and more particularlytubular objects such as,,for} instance; cartridge shells; the testingheing concerned"'with such characteristics as hardness,- grain size elasticlstrength and recovery following internal pres-r sure, and detection ofinternal' stresses andilocation of color lines in connectionwith localized annealing operations. It is proposed; according to the invention, toitest such characteristics by determination of elastic deformationandlrecovery directly, upon the basisithat elastic recovery of metal varies in: accordance with any variation in the characteristics under test. It isproposed" to determine thedeformation and recovery dimensions fromacartridgej shell'or similar object of known characteristics by squeezing. it at agiven point or area to l an arbitrarily determined" dimension, and gauging the elastic recovery after squeezing ata givenpoint or area, the squeezing and recovery v dimensions thereupon being, the standards for production testingcartridge. shells or similar; objects by squeezing and gauging. I

Where the objeotundergoes a succession ofTanhealing land f orming operations the standards.

and squeezing. and. gauging points. or areasl are determined for 3 each production step requiring test.

In connection with-cartridge. shellsqthe. properties of the metal, such as hardness; elastic strength and recovery, and, grain size, and which vary in different portions of'the case,,a1.e of Iparamount importance in the use of the I cartridge.

The shell of a cartridge is, in firing, subjectedto an enormous internal pressure and must. expand outwardly without rupture until it. issupported by the chamber wall, As internalIpressurereturns to normal the. shell. must. contract; to such an extent that. ittdbes not gript he chamber wall and can be extracted. "Ihus thetmetalf of "the andetched' surface of the metala slow lab'oratory operation. A standard; set of grain. sizes has been establishedgas described by A. SZfIifM Specification NoaE2 39'I; The grain size of the sample under test is determined in accordance withJsaidjA. S;. T. MI specification or is. compared.

visually. with? the A; e ort pmte an v operationwhicli-is slowy is conducted iri allakioraj- 'tory, and requires somewdegree of experience. finother diificulty is that the grainsize st'andards are "not su iifc-ziently close -toglether imsome needed ranges to give all =the-desired resultsr Hardness, such as determined by the Rockwell; Bi'inell or Scieroscope; is" another" measure o fthe desired property ofthe metal b'ut requires laboratoryapparatusiand awexp'ert-l'y controlled procedurelfor its determinationbut such wmeans is not' -exactl y co'rrelatedwvith the-desired properties-inammuni tion' components;

In the manufacture= ofican tridgeshel'l; from thefiirst jdraw of'the cylindiical piecetoth'e' *finishedshell; having a tapere'd body hardenediandmustbe annealed Gonsequentlyw "the-degree and ex'tentor th e anrreals mustbe precisely controlled throughout production so tl'iat fore-carried out in connectiomwith ingiop'erations' by= determiniiig era! wallof-fvarying thickn'ess betweenits ends and a contractednecle andbullet receivingmouth: at

its openend, the shell mustbe subjecteditowa number "of forming operatibns and a succession of annea'ls directed at 'localized areas, depending upon the particular operation-- following each anneal. As the case is drawn it becomesvvwork an operation upon one part o'f the-=shell 'will not deleteriously:aifect other parts2- The'testslieretoese amrealsizes was slow and tedious, and-"during the relatively long period? required to perfbrmtl'ietest; the -prnducwas tried. and the testing procedure; repeated.

very frequently gasi 1would' flil'ctuate or of necessity? bg-thrnedof? and a new determination in grain found.

In carrying out themethod? of the present inventiontit was determined that, team-11y, .an-

healing destroys the=- elastic recovery of metal. In other words, a bending moment appli'edt'to -an unannealedmetal structuredoes not leave the degree of-"permanent -set t-hat the same bending moment \vould leave ir appliedi to *an annealed metal structure; Consequentl'y anyg variation in the anneal which affectsgrainfsize and other a characteristics willjresult a* variation in the elastic" recovery; the dimension upon elastic" recove-ryb'eing inversely "proportion'alvto the-degree of anneal, and. given a standard recoVery' -diinem sion' forte: known grain size anywariation in the annealwill result" in a" recovery" dim i nn variance with the standard: b

Onepreviousmethodor testing-5cartridgewshells or the like for" determinatiow of the degree 50f neck anneals in the case of cartridge shells, is the so called mercury cracking test, designed to detect internal stresses and hardness, and involves subjecting the case, or a portion thereof, to a mercurous nitrate solution after the case has been cleaned properly, such as by the use of nitric acid. The results of such tests are used as a guide in. making necessary adjustments in the annealing temperature and in location of the annealing flames. The mercury cracking test serves to indicate, for one thing, a degree of anneal which may leave a strained structure producing the defect known as season'cracking. The mercury accelerates failure of an incorrectly annealed case by attacking the bond between grains.

According to theinvention it is proposed to Fig. 10 is a front elevation thereof.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation showing the cartridge shell placed therein preparatory to being squeezed.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation, showing the device in squeezed position and the squeezed cartridge shell therein.

Fig. 13 is a side elevation showing the device upon release following the Squeezing operation tion.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a modified :form of gauge device, particularly for gauging gauged.

evaluate such anneals by elastic deformation testing, wherein it has been determined that a recovery dimension can be established at a predetermined-point or area following an established squeeze at a predetermined point or area whereby both mercury cracking testing and grain size determination is avoided. p

In the determination of color line or the zone of anneal, it is necessary to cut open the cartridge case.

The color line is difiicult to determine due to dirt and other extraneous substances which might be present on the surface of the case. The pointwhich is determined to be the color line may also vary with the observer as is often the case with visual inspecting means.

. ing to the invention, for carrying out the squeezing operation upon the cartridge shell orother metal object to be tested. Fig. 2 is a front end view of the pliers. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, showing the pliers in open position, with the open end of a cartridge shell engaged therein preparatory to being squeezed. h

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the pliers in open position, with the shell engaged therein as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the pliers in squeezing position, the squeezed open end of the squeezed cartridge shell being shown in transverse section. v

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the pliers upon release after squeezing, the open end of the cartridge shellbeing shown in transverse section after elastic recovery from the squeezing operation, as shown in Fig. 5. I

Fig. 7 is a perspective view, showing a gaug device for gauging the deformed cartridge shell, the latterbeing shown in position to be engaged therewith.

Fig. 8 is a plan View of the jaw end of the pliers, showing the same engaged with the neck portion of a cartridge shell.

v Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a modified form of squeezing device for carrying out the invention.

Fig. 15 is a side elevation of a test plug gauge for setting the gauge device as shown in Fig. 14.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of 1 to 8 thereof, the device, according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated therein for carrying out the testing method of the invention, comprises a plier tool consisting of cooperating opposed jaw members H] and H, pivotally connected by means of a pivot pin 12, and respectively provided with handle extensions 13 and I l. The jaw members 19 and H are provided'with complementary right angular cutouts l5 and I6, constituting in the closed position of the pliers, determined by meeting engagement of the abutment stop portionsll and I8,

, article within the plier, the end of the article being held firmly against the closure wall during the squeezing operation.

The plier opening [5-46 is especially adapted to receive the open end of an article to be tested in position to have this open end squeezed, and

for the purpose of adapting the pliers to the squeezing of the article at a predetermined point intermediate its ends, as for instance the body of a cartridge shell adjacent the neck, the end of the pliers, beyond the closure plate 19 and the abutment stop portions I7 and I8, is provided with right angular cut-outs 2| and 22 in the ends of the respective jaw members Ill and H, these cut-outs in the closed position of the plier constituting an open ended recess having parallel opposed faces for receiving the article to be squeezed, these opposed faces being precisely ground to the predetermined dimension between the faces to which the article is to be squeezed. v

As shown in Figs. 3 to 7, the article under test is illustrated as a tubular cylindrical cartridge shell A in one of the early stages of manufacture, i. e. before formation of the contracted bullet re- .ceiving mouth; The shell is tested by elastic deformation to determine its elastic recovery by engaging the cylindrical open end in the opening l5-l6 of the pliers as shown in Figs. 3 and'4.

In this case it can be assumed, for .the sake of i1- dowels 4115 and provided forwardly of the stand;

1ustrati6n',"that" an: annealing operatibngora forming operation; upon the shell following an anneal; has-"been laboratory ana-lyzed in= connectibnwith a shell known to be perfect through grain sizeor other suitabletests'; and thatfrom this perfect shell a squeezzing-"dim'ension stand 1 ardhas been established and theelastic recovery following the squeezing operationhas been precisely measured: to'- establish a= gauging-recovery-dimension-standardi Thus; forexampleg the squeezing dimension may' be established" as .338 inch and theelastic recovery dimensiom as .380 inch for acall BO case beforenecking-{or tapering. The? dimensionsof course will vary in accordance*-with'-tlie"operation; shell; material, etc: For" production testing this operation the =dimen'- ard with an anvil blockmember 4 I secured by ascrew 42 this block member being provided' in .forwardl'y spaeed' relation toftlie standard with a raised 'flat anvil face 43; At each side of the intermediate portion oil the anvil facelfithereis provided averticalfcylindrical hole M extending through-ithe anvil and thebase; in which therecis securedby'-'a press fit the downwardly'extending.

verticalf shaft por tion. 45:; provide'd at; the under side of: a) cylindricalf stop 1 block member Allisongaged with-nether anvilfi face; this stop. blockl being provided at: its upper side with. upwardly ex? sion of the-squeezin i opening [E -l 6 -is= precisely ground t'o .338- in'ch; and a suitable" gauge i'spro- Vided having Go and No-t Go gauging open:-

in'gs precisely" ground to dimensions respectively slightly greater and: slightly: lesstham .380 inch:

Such'agauge' is illustratediin Fig. 'Z and' comprises a base plate 2 3- having gauge =plate 24- secured thereto' by screws 25 and provided It at: its res'pec tiVe ends-= with designated on and Not (so Qpenings Z G and Z L. l l

.As shown in Fig. 5 the cartridge shell is subv jectedtothesqueezing operation byicompressing the: pliers to i the" closed position determined by the abutment stop portions: I'l"and l8, and upon release of pressure on the pliers the cartridge shell expands: through. elastic recovery to the deformation shape showninFig; 6, the plierjaws being freely" movable so that they oppose n0 re straint to expansion of the shell. According to the present testinghmethod thiselastic' recovery will vary ifthere is any variation from' thetdesired standard l in. the anneal or. otheroperation being production. tested, the elastic recovery be ing inversely: proportional: to the degree 0ft El-Y1:-

neall. The shell must recover to theestablished standard dimension; if it fails to do: soit isttoo soft; ifi it" recovers too muchit is too hard (and mayr split. underfiringpressureh The squeezed shell is gauged 1 by entering its: squeezed end into the Go and Not Go openi'ngsiof the gauge. If it isithe proper dimension, ittwillententhe Go opening. but willnot enterthe Not Go opening; If it hasan excessive dimension;;indi eating insuflibient anneal or hardness; it will not enter the Go opening; while if its dimension is less than the established standard; indicating tending verticalcguide post portion 41: These guidep'ost portions are 'engagediwith vertical ipass sagesABz e-W: provided an. the: ends of: a" presser bar 49. having: its lower: face parallel. to land. op

.posedl tol the anvil. face 48, .the, upperfsid-eeoflthe bar; being chamferedto provideacentral bearing ribrportioni The upperxendsof the ugulide post portions: 41' are: upset, at; 51:, to retain; the presser'banagainstremovalr l The. upper): End: of the standardi as-is provided with alslot'l 52;. and:has pivotally supported; there'- in by meansrof: arpivotz pin- 53 the end: of a'pres.-. sure applying; lever .54 projecting forwardly and engagedl with"; the: bearing? rib. portion; 50.: of..the

presserbar 491 l Upon: the forward face Pof-r the" standard: there is s provided a cartridge: shell positioning pinzx 55 having. its shank porti0n15fi engaged with a press fituin a hole 57: extending through the standard; this lpimbeing; disposed in substantially centrally aligned: relation With-the shell. receiving; space betweenthe:anvilblockaand the presser bar; and

itssthe squeeze imparted to the.:article=. engaged upontheranvil to this dimension.

As shown in a Fig. i ll, thewcartridge shell. is"; en.- gagedibeneath the-presser; bar. and positionedtby the pocket engagingtpin55 preparatory'to being squeezed by downward pressure applied to. the

bar by means of itherlever. Fig;.12 illustrates: the

excessive anneal or softness; it will enter both-the Go and Not G*o openings. The speed and facilitywith-*whichthistestin method may be car riedout byrelatively inexpert machine operators enables frequent periodical testing during production, expeditious correction of theanneaL ing 'fl'a'mes; and minimum loss in production time and' output. l l

In Fig. 8, the neck of thecartridge caseAisbeing tested by use of the jawopenings z l and 22 so as :to determine the degree of anneal at this portion or: the shell. It has, been previous prac .tioe to use the mercury cracking test toolstermineithe degree of: anneal lat. this point; I

1 It is tolbe understood that other; pointsiofg the case or article may-be tested in a similar manner after: properly correlating. the results:

In Figs: Q- -to 13; there ismill'ustrated axmodified form: of. apparatus; 1 according; to. the invention=,..for; practicing the method of the invent tion, comprising a bench typei press consistingyof a base platefliprovided at one end with a vertical standardw8 sec1iredthereto by a screw 39 and cartridge: shell in its:squeezedzlcondition;. and Fig. l3r illustrates the? elastic: recdvery of. the. cartridgershell; after squeezing, thepresserbar: be.

ing-free to move upwardlyupon the guidenpost portions 41 without imposing restraint upon; the elastic recovery of the shell... Thersqueezed'shell is gauged to. measure. the: elastic recovery dimension by means of.thezGo"andfNotG0 gauge, as illustrated inxFig..14. i I

The edges 50. and. BI. of; the. presser member should. bewso .arrangedlrelative; to': the face: 62 of. the upright 38: as: to bring. the; shoulder; of thewcase in-line therewith: It' hasbeenfound thatr Whenuso located the! best results. are: ob

tained.. Asi-the shelliisssqueezedtheneck portion takes the shape shown in Figs; 12. andv13. at:

i If. the .IIBCk portion 13? (Fig; 11 of: the shell. is l .toorhard,.the dimensionE of'Fig. 13 will be: too

large; If the neck is too soft; dimensioniEiwill be .too small. Cartridge." case mouths musti'be annealed: to. receive and holdthe'. pr'oj ectile prop erlyqr Adjacent: the. shoulder: 63%: (mg; 111) the case; must-she: sufiiciently harm so: thatlwhemthle.

primer is struck there will not be a cushioning effect such as would be caused by too soft a shoulder. For this reason, the zone of anneal at the tapered portion B must be accurately located and not include the shoulder. It has been the previous practice to require the color line to be about the distance down onthe tapered portion B. The exact reason for this variation is squeezed shell may be of any suitable type, but .preferablyis designed to measure a point of the shell at a predetermined distance from the open end. In Fig. 14, a suitable gauge of this type is illustrated, and comprises a base plate 28 mounting a block member 29, in which a pair of spaced parallel horizontally disposed Go and Not Go screws 30 and 3| are engaged, the ends of these screws being preferably pointed and disposed in directly opposed relation to the V-edge 32 of abar 33 secured upon the base plate, the

opposed screw points and the V-edge being at a predetermined height from the base plate corresponding to the distance from the end of the shell of the established point to be measured. The screws are respectively set at spacings from the V-edge 32, slightly greater and less than the established standard recovery dimension, and these settings can be conveniently made with a suitable plug gauge 34 having Go and Not i said first mentioned pre-established point in com- Go plug ends 35 and 36 having diameters corresponding to the Go and Not Go dimensions. The squeezed shell is held perpendicularly with its open end in engagement with the base 28 and is entered between the screw points and the V-edge of the bar 33. If it is of the proper elastic recovery dimension at this point from the mouth it will pass the Go screw but will not pass the Not Go screw. If the dimen- I sion is too great it will not pass either of the screws, and if too small it will pass both of them. By. this means, both the zone and degree of anneal is determined. The location of the point of measurement could be determined from the base.

The form of the invention'illustrated in the drawing and described-herein is typical and illustrative only, and it is evident that the inventionis capable of embodiments in other forms, all

falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I which are to be broadly construed.

dimension pre-established from said article of acceptable anneal.

2. The method of evaluating anneal boundaries of the metal of a deformable cartridge shellor like article which comprises deforming the article by pressure at a pre-established point to a deformation dimension pre-establishedfrom an article having acceptable anneal boundaries, releasing the deformation pressure to permit elasparison with an elastic recovery dimension preestablished from said article having acceptable anneal boundaries.

3. The method of testing the potential elastic recovery of the metal of a cartridge shell from internal firing pressure and anneal of the neck, which comprises squeezing the shell transversely at a pre-established point by external pressure to a pre-established deformation dimension, re-

leasing the external squeezing pressure to perby pressing to a deformation dimension Dre-- established as to location and amount from an article of acceptable anneal; releasing the deformation pressure to permit elastic recovery; and gauging the elastic recovery dimension in comparison with an elastic recovery dimension pre-established from said article of acceptable anneal.

5. The method of testing the zone and degree of anneal of a cartridge case which comprises locating the base of the case in a fixed position; deforming the article by pressing at a fixed predetermined distance from the base, said case being pressed to a deformation dimension'preestablished from a case of acceptable anneal; releasing the deiormation pressure to permit elastic recovery; and gauging the elastic recovery dimension at a fixed point other than said aforementioned predetermined distance from the base relative to the length of the case in comparison with an elastic recovery dimension pre-established from a case of acceptable anneal.

6. A testing device for testing the potential elastic recovery of the metal of a cartridge shell having a'base, bod and neck comprising a loeating abutment for the base of the cartridge shell; an anvil base member located near the neck of the shell and a relatively movable 00- operating opposed pressure member adapted to receive the article to be squeezed thereby at a fixed location relative to the length of the article; means to operate said pressure member to keep the same substantially parallel to said anvil base member; stop means to limit the squeezing movement of said pressure member toward said base member to a pre-established squeeze dimension; and a pressure applying lever engaged with said pressure member. 7

7. The method of testing the zone and de ree of anneal of the shoulder of a cartridge shell having a mouth, shoulder, and body portion which comprises squeezing the shell transversely to a pre-established deformation dimension at a point other than the shoulder, releasing external squeezing pressure to permit elastic recovery and gauging the elastic recovery dimension at a preestablished point other than the first mentioned pre-established point in comparison with a preestablished elastic recovery dimension of an acceptacle cartridge shell.

JOHN P. CATLIN. GEORGE R. ECKSTEIN. 

